


What if Chrissie would have been the one to find Robert?

by smittenwithsugden



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Comfort, M/M, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 07:52:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11664816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenwithsugden/pseuds/smittenwithsugden
Summary: Chrissie is the one finding Robert after his fall down the stairs





	What if Chrissie would have been the one to find Robert?

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this a few days ago on tumblr and forgot to upload it here

Rebecca had decided to stay at the Pub to talk to Vic, so Chrissie had left on her own. She had parked her car a little down the road and she’d almost reached it when she heard the cries.

Was that coming from The Mill? She walked closer and sure enough, that was definitely Robert calling for help. She hesitated for a second but then quickly walked down the driveway. Thankfully the doors were unlocked and she had no problem walking in.

She saw Robert immediately, laying on the floor, his leg somehow caught in between the steps.

He bend his head to look at her and sighed. “Of course,” he muttered.

“Oh, this is great,” she grinned. “So you really do need me right now.”

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Uh, what was that? Did you just say please?” she said with a grin. “Hold on, I think I need to hear that again, relish this moment.”

“You kow what? Never mind,” Robert snapped. “Now that I come to think of it the floor actually is quite comfortable and the jolting pain in my ankle will subside sooner or later, I’m sure.

“Oh, come off it, you big baby,” Chrissie said and bend down to free his leg from between the steps. 

She was actually surprisingly gentle with him, making sure not to twist his ankle any further. 

Robert pulled himself in a sitting situation, leaning against the radiator.

Chrissie sat down on the armrest of the couch and looked at him.

“It stinks in here,” she just said wrinkling her nose.

“I know,” he said, slowly pulling his pants leg up and examining his ankle. “But I don’t really care.”

“Wow,” she said, looking around some more. “You know this is a huge turn off, right?”

Robert scoffed. “I wasn’t exactly planning on turning you on.”

Chrissie tilted her head in a condescending way. “Cute,” she said shortly. “But I wasn’t talking about me. I mean, Aaron should be back any day, right?”

As soon as she said his name there was a shadow going over Robert’s face and she could literally see himself closing off.

But Chrissie wouldn’t let him, she pushed, thinking that maybe Robert needed to let something out. And even though she couldn’t really care less about his marriage, seeing him like this did make her pity him a little bit.

“I mean, Robert,” she said pushing. “What is it with you and not being able to be married longer than 6 months? February till July seems to be your jam, right?”

“Shut up,” he said, sounding tired and defeated.

“Robert, you messed up, stop throwing yourself a pity party,” she said.

“I know, okay?” he said, voice rising. “I know I did! In fact that is all I know. I messed up! I did this! Aaron is hurting so much he can’t even stand to be around me! Because of a kid I don’t even want! Because I had sex with somebody I don’t even want! I know I messed up, okay? Everybody keeps telling me I am to blame for all of this and I am just tired of it! I mean, they’re right, of course they are, but there is nothing at all I can do about it. So I have nothing left than feeling sorry for myself, for losing the only thing that ever truly mattered to me. He was my life, he just was, okay? And now I don’t know what to do!”

Chrissie looked at him, really, truly looked at him for the first time in what seems like forever. And he didn’t see the devious, lying, cheating man, who was so easy to hate. She saw a shell of a man who truly lost everything he cared about.

And she thought, maybe this was who Robert truly was. Maybe it really was true that he was never himself with her. Maybe Aaron really wasn’t just something new and adventurous for Robert. Maybe Robert truly fell in love. She had always thought Robert had cheated on her because there was something wrong with her, that she was too boring for him. And maybe that was still true, but it also wasn’t where Aaron was concerned. She thought, that probably for the first time ever she saw Robert how he truly was. Desperately in love and not able to cope without it.

“You’ll get him back,” she said.

“No, I won’t,” Robert said. “I don’t deserve it. Him.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “But he didn’t leave you because you’re a lying, cheating asshole. He left because he wasn’t able to cope with the situation.”

“But it’s my fault, he was cutting again, because…,” Robert started but then shut himself up. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

Chrissie swallowed and sighed. 

“Robert, you messed up, and I am the last person who would blame Aaron for dumping you. But him hurting himself is not down to you. It’s HIS coping mechanism.”

“What?” Robert asked confused.

“Okay, listen, I know I like to blame you for a lot of things, but me torching your car back then, was that your fault, too?”

“Yeah,” Robert said immediately. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Chrissie said, shaking her head. “You didn’t put that lighter in my hand, did you? It was my choice. You might be responsible for people feeling bad and used and lied to. But how they deal with that is not down to you.”

Robert felt like the world around him was crumbling, and he couldn’t hold on, couldn’t grasp what Chrissie was saying to him. It rang true, but then again he didn’t feel like he was allowed to believe it. He deserved to take all the blame for everything.

He clenched his jaw and looked down at the ground.

“Do you need a ride to the hospital?” Chrissie asked, sensing that she wouldn’t get a reply to what she said.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Robert asked.

Chrissie got up from the couch and offered him a hand. 

“Because it’s no fun to kick you when you’re already down,” Chrissie said.

Robert looked surprised but took the hand she offered. She pulled him up and allowed him to lean on her. With his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist she led him to her car.


End file.
